


in flames.

by DecayedDruid



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Angst, Anyway yeah here's the main chapter modern au story, But how dare anyone ever see Thanatos being SOFT, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Grae has really shitty parents by the way, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Violence, Nevaeh isn't relevant in a major sense for a while but I'm tagging in advance, Rating Will Eventually Increase, Romance, Thanatos and Sinclair are soft twins who support each other, There will be future content warnings, Time to build from the ground up!, once again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-04-05 07:53:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19044304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DecayedDruid/pseuds/DecayedDruid
Summary: Stereotypical child of higher class, borderline-nobility really, meeting a friend of a much lower class bracket. Becoming close, and getting far too intertwined with his friend's older twin brother and his "troubled activities". Or, well, in the case of fantasy elements, perhaps not so stereotypical.Regardless of the cliche-value, Grae really should've second checked his ability to read people and their characters. As well as how deep he should meddle into their affairs. If you don't want to get tossed into the frying pan, maybe don't eventually wander your way into the bed of the fiery beast.





	in flames.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GeneralWeylyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeneralWeylyn/gifts).



> How many multi-chap fics will I saddle on myself before wheezing and crumbling: The challenge. This might actually be better for me rather than restraining myself to one or two fics, updates will be sporadic, but more likely to happen since me hitting burnout isn't so likely [with options].
> 
> As always, Grae Yalanthil belongs to my boyfriend (GeneralWeylyn), and I kinda got everyone else unless stated otherwise. Thanatos is an asshole and Sinclair is soft and should be protected 2k19.
> 
> \----
> 
> For the record, this work will inevitably contain chapters that require content warnings. If there's ever a need for such, it'll be in the beginning author's note in the following format: CW / Content Warning: [X Warning Here]. Thank you!

Grae meeting Sinclair was relatively unexpected, but not unpleasant in the long run. They didn't attend the same university, and Sinclair had a very _clearly_ different major than he (Environmental Science, befitting for a druid such as he was, Grae found out), but he was very polite and welcome company. And, while Grae was personally majoring in the Feywild, and minoring specifically in the Archfey... They got on well and had similar study material in certain classes, so agreed to trade numbers and become friends.

Sinclair was absolutely elated to finally make another good friend, as most people at his university were the wild party type, and so either teased him or ignored him entirely. He had recently befriended another guy in his geology class named Nevaeh who kept him company and helped him out, but he was too anxious about frequently bothering his only friend... Grae unfortunately figured that most pinned Sinclair as the wimpy 'loser' archetype to bully or brush off, but it was their loss.

They met up at food courts and cafes from time to time for study meets, but also to hang out. Today it was the latter, both of them hanging out in the courtyard of the city's park courtyard. It was serene and gorgeous as the leaves turned, vandalism graffiti be damned. The breeze rolled through, blowing both of their longer hair in the wind. Sinclair slipped his eyes shut and inhaled deeply, taking in and enjoying the breeze as his curled his fingers tighter around his grande mint hot chocolate from the coffee-shop before the came here. Grae looked over to Sinclair and felt one of the corners of his lips twitch upwards in a smile, the leaves skittering across the concrete of the circle around the currently not running fountain.

He remembered noting that Sinclair had said Autumn was his second best season, when his own magickal powers came easier to him. Spring was his absolute best, and he was excited for that. It showed, though, the tan chibido looked rather well compared to the Summer, and was a lot more spry seeming... And his freckles even popped out more on his face, it made him look akin to a doe, the elf thought. Grae briefly wondered at random if Sinclair had any cosmetic routine for such clear skin; a different, intrusive thought of perhaps having a sleepover at one point following and using a study session as a guise to slip in the question to spark a conversation. He briefly entertained it, anxiety regarding his parents allowing him staying the night anyway not in their home beginning to squash it...

But Grae will deny he ever had any anxiety about his parents impeding on any part of his life, social or otherwise.

Looking down to his own venti sized coffee and then back out to the view in front of them, the peaceful and tranquil silence was shattered when Sinclair's phone went off.

**Bzzzrt** _!_ **Bzzzrt** _!_ **Bzzzrt** _!_

Scaring him out of his reverie, Sinclair spluttered and nearly spilled his drink as he started frantically fishing in his coat pockets for his phone. Grae made quick work of relieving his startled friend of his drink, snorting when he whimpered out an apology.

“Nonsense, your phone just scared the living daylights out of you! You looked no different from a deer in the headlights, please just focus on your phone...” Grae said softly, trying to be soothing but wondering if he didn't do such a good job from Sinclair's apologetic look in return as he answered his phone. He ignored his own thoughts in favor of focusing on his friend and if he needed help.

“H-hello?” Sinclair said softly, anxiety making his voice waver. The voice on the other line was muffled, and the words weren't anywhere near clear, but Grae could definitely hear a distinct voice responding. It sounded rather gruff and angry, and Sinclair's bubblegum pink eyes widened a bit with panic. … Was there an issue? He couldn't figure out much before Sinclair was quickly sliding off the park table he was sitting on, hopping off the bench and walking a ways away, probably for privacy. Grae could, of course, respect that. Lord knew he had a number of his own secrets...

He definitely began to grow even more worried, though, as his friend seemed to get more panicked as the call went on. Temptation began to buzz in him to _just go check on him_ , but he really was concerned about encroaching on Sinclair's privacy, and so there he stood with a coffee and hot chocolate in his hands, waiting patiently. Eventually the blond seemed to sigh and give up, hanging up and returning. He seemed infinitely more apologetic than before, fidgeting and graciously accepting his drink back. It seemed he needed to speak, but was scared. Grae offered an understanding smile, small as it might've been. Probably hardly there, but Sinclair was exceedingly gracious and understood him.

“Need to leave, Sin?” Grae cocked his head to the side a bit, sliding a loosely balled up fist into his jacket pocket and sipping his coffee. The chibido sighed, running a hand through his own hair with his own freehand, probably since he didn't have them both to wring them together.

“Y-yes, I do, I'm sorry, Grae,” Sinclair sighed, “My twin brother, h-he got into a bit of a scuffle, and--”

Wait, Sinclair had a twin? They'd been friends for how long and Grae was only just finding this out now? He blinked dumbly, unable to stop himself from saying, “Twin brother? Younger?”

“No, older, he's--” Sighing, Sinclair fidgeted, “I can't get into too much detail because I _really_ do need to leave, but he's a bit of a troublemaker. Starts a lot of things he knows he really shouldn't, but a lot of people tend to pin him wrong, and so he has that mentality of doing stupid stuff cause people figure he will anyway... I kinda have to do what I can to keep him in line, that was him calling me, he got into a bit of a predicament with an honor student with a lot of money and knowledge on how to use that money for payback...”

Grae made an acknowledging noise, pausing when Sinclair did a vague brief on the situation. He sighed, shaking his head a bit in disappointment. Figures, unfortunately. “It seems you should go handle that, then. It's quite alright, Sin, there's no hard feelings. Text me if you need me, please? And let me know when you get home and such, so I know that you're alright.”

“Oh, of course, Grae!” Sinclair smiled brightly and fondly, returning to his normal demeanor for a little bit. But it was indeed somewhat brief, by the time it was gone, he just looked... Tired. “I'll see you later, 'kay?”

“'Course, Sinclair, take care and see you later,” the snow elf responded, waving goodbye as his friend scampered off. It almost seemed that he couldn't run fast enough... Was his older twin brother that much of a bad guy? Thin silver eyebrows furrowed as Grae turned it over in his mind, turning it over in his mind repeatedly to try and analyze it from different angles as he did with... Well, typically most things. It was just who Grae was as a person.

Sinclair, who was so soft-spoken, insisted in being in a caretaker's role, and anxious as he was... Whose twin sounded like a polar opposite? The only thing he could theorize most likely was a major life conflict or trauma in which, dependent on the prospective person in question's core personality, could morph them one of a few ways. It seemed most sensible.

Thankfully, for Grae, he had a very good auto-pilot, typically. Which meant he could think and walk a lot, and still get to his intended destination with no issues. He even avoided most, if not all, obstacles. What was not good for Grae was that, to get back to his specific neighborhood, he had to had the turn around through the park. Going through a small portions of the slums and back alleys to get through to the higher class neighborhoods. Otherwise known as, to the lower classes, the 'rich bitch' neighborhoods.

It was aggravating both ways, but it honestly agitated Grae mostly on behalf of the lower class because he could've sworn sometimes people like his parents (translation: “father”) just lived near them in neighborhoods to people-watch and harass...

“ ** _Hey_** ,” A low, gravelly voice snapped at Grae, yanking him out of his reverie. When did he stop walking? That normally didn't happen while on auto-pilot... “ ** _I said I'm talkin' to you! Or do even the smaller classy roaches think there are life forms below them?_** ”

… Alright, what the _fuck_. Eyebrow twitching, Grae slowly turned around, his light silvery-blue eyes making _way too close_ contact with bright amber. First that low of a jab, now this stranger doesn't know the definition of personal space? That was _rich_ , and not by monetary values, should he have to ask. Grae swiped the tip of his tongue across his lips to wet them, glancing down towards the concrete and briefly chewing on his bottom lip whilst he formulated a response. Just _who_...

“I'm sorry,” the elf said, sizing up this guy before making eye contact again. Seemed approximately his age, maybe a bit older, give or take. About the shorter end of six feet tall, tanned skin, long violet hair with the sides shaved, amber eyes, and rugged clothing... A decent amount of ear piercings, a couple left eyebrow piercings... Typical run-of-the-mill alley punk, as far as anyone was concerned. Grae glowered, not even as if he saw something distasteful, because as far as he was concerned, post-first impression he definitely _was_ seeing something distasteful. Some _one_ distasteful. “And just who do you think _you_ are, throwing around such rude words like you think you know anyone you see?”

“Given the fact you wouldn't initially respond to me, I don't think that's any of your fuckin' business,” the punk sneered, taking a step forward. Grae only took the smallest step back so this guy wouldn't step on his foot. He wasn't about to back down, he didn't give flying fuck who this guy thought he was. He wasn't hot shit like he apparently thought he was. He could take his fake ass predatory look elsewhere, because the snow elf wasn't buying into it. He wasn't scared, and he wouldn't let this stranger have the satisfaction of his fear. Especially when it didn't exist.

It wasn't until, however, a tinge of actual purple flames came off of the tanned punk's breath that Grae's complexion blanched a bit. Well, fuck, that may actually be a _bit_ of an issue if he used fire magick... A low, rumbling chuckle came from that stupid asshole's mouth and Grae could hear it in his chest, him deciding to continue to encroach on Grae's personal space. The elf continued to back up, not breaking tense eye contact as he walked backwards. It was okay, Grae could get out of this. He was used to sticky situations like this, he just needed a little time to analyze his surroundings and formulate a plan. He was _not_ about to have this altercation.

Thankfully, it seemed the responsibility was relieved from Grae, because no sooner did this punk-ass start cracking knuckles were there voices heard.

“Think he went this way? Purple hair and fire ain't very hard to miss.”

“And all those piercings? That kinda outfit in _this_ neighborhood? Give me a fucking break, the kid wouldn't be able to hide to save his life. Loud mouth won't help him either.”

Grae perked up at the sound of what appeared to be officers, watching the man in front of him pause and jerk his head up. The stranger released a string of curses under his breath, a barrage of purple flames igniting in his now clenched fists. Grae scrabbled back at that, stumbling and hitting his back against the brick wall of the alleyway across from the back doors of all the buildings and establishments. A snow elf next to extremely hot flames is most definitely a not good and very unneeded mixture he'd _very much_ like to avoid, thank you.

“Goddammit!” the stranger hissed, extinguishing his flames and booking it. Grae stared, gaze narrowing and only getting steelier as he got further away down the alley. The officers soon rounded the corner, seeing Grae backed up against a wall and staring down the alleyway.

“You good, kid?” an officer from the duo asked, voice gruff.

Grae slowly inhaled as he pushed himself off the brick wall, brushing his clothing off. While he was thoroughly annoyed, something was telling him it'd be wisest to keep this encounter to himself... So he knew how to keep these officers from inquiring anything else further after his answer.

“Yes, of course,” he responded calmly, now having entirely gathered his composure and able to act as normal. “I heard you were looking for a certain punk? I didn't hear much detail, what would he happen to look like so I could report him if seen?”

“Tch! I dunno how he's gotten around town and avoided us for so long now... He's got long purple hair, tan skin, amber eyes, lots of piercings on his ears 'n a couple on his face. Clothing wise, really can't miss him. He's the poster child for a biker punk ad, it's annoying. Thanks for the help, kid, and do give us a tip if you see 'im around.”

Grae made a noise of acknowledgment as the officers turned away and walked off, and it was about that time his own phone made a soft chiming noise. Oh, a text? He pulled out the device, quickly unlocking it and seeing a text from Sinclair.

 **Sinclair V.:** I just got home, and everything seems to be okay with my brother! :) Thanks for hanging out with me today, Grae, I appreciate it. I hope we can do it again sometime soon...?

Grae smiled, but then got an idea. Maybe...

 **Grae Y.:** Yes, of course, Sin! Actually, I had problems with one of my Eco Sciences classes... Would, uh... It be alright if I came over for a night sometime soon to trade notes? Perhaps this weekend, if sooner rather than later is okay?

The response was almost immediate, and what was inside warmed his heart.

 **Sinclair V:** Oh, oh, ohhh! Like a sleepover?! Yes, that sounds so fun!!! What foods do you like, I don't have much money, but I'll get some snacks! Do you want to watch movies, too?! I never have friends over, I'm so sorry, aaah!!

… Sinclair was such a gem, and Grae was very happy he met him. As he the snow elf _finally_ arrived at his home, he began to inform the younger chibido of his food and movie preferences. As well as the fact he'd also shoulder the share of cost, at least he didn't have to worry so much of expenses.

It was convincing his parents to let him do this that was the big hurdle. But he had an idea...

– – – – –

... And just like that, _somehow_ he managed to do it without too much fight. He told Sinclair their answer, and they both acted like giddy _teenage girls_ almost with how excited they were. Grae never remembered being this fond of or close with anyone.

After promising his parents numerous times his phone would be charged; _yes_ , he would have it on and with the ringer turned up at all times; _yes_ , he would notify them if he needed them or something happened; _no_ , he wasn’t about to hang out with shady people or do anything illegal; _no_ , he wouldn’t be neglecting his studies all weekend… He was on his way and out the door. Exhausting as it was, it was routine at this point, and according to his parents: necessary.

As he walked to the address given via text by Sinclair, the snow elf couldn’t help but note the apartment complex he was walking through felt… Familiar. He knew exactly why--this is about where he ran into that asshole punk kid from before. He still wasn’t sure why intuition told him to not report that guy to the police, but it was a pretty strong gut feeling, so…

Lifting a hand as he approached the door, Grae knocked a few times. A light rap, there was a few seconds before a couple clicks of locks were heard, followed by the opening of the door. What Grae was expecting… Was not what greeted him at the door. Familiar tanned skin… Wild purple hair with the sides shaved, molten gold eyes, two left eyebrow piercings, and a multitude of ear piercings. It was--!

“ **You!** ” They both hissed at the same time, the delinquent more sneering than anything; and before anything else could proceed, a familiar blond head of hair popped up in between both of them. Anxious ball of energy, Sinclair was still happy to see his friend.

“Hi Grae!” Sinclair chirped with a sheepish smile, a small and anxious giggle following. Was this... Actually happening-?

**Author's Note:**

> Ayyyy, this is the end of chapter one. I hope it was mildly enjoyable, I don't think much happened, and honestly, this might have a bit of a slow start, but I'm hoping it picks up rather soon!! I also have other Thanatos/Grae stuff if you wanna peep it in my profile, they're fun to write. :) You can find me elsewhere, like on Twitter @/konno_azusa!


End file.
